More about the 2007 Honorees

Dr. Louise Feroe
Dr. Feroe is committed to the transformative power of higher education. As president, her primary goal is to promote a culture of sustained excellence at the college. Upon assuming the presidency, she united the Mercy community in a period of reflection that resulted in a revised and reaffirmed mission statement that celebrates Mercy's identity and core values. Since then, she has refined the college's focus on assuring student success through a methodical and purposeful approach to planning, analysis, action and review.

Under Dr. Feroe's leadership, the college has achieved unprecedented success in securing federal and state funding to enhance academic programs, and she has positioned Mercy as a leader in the national conversation about the future of higher education through lectures and presentations on local and national stages. She has strengthened the college's relationship with its stakeholders and is a tireless advocate for the needs of underserved students.

Dr. Feroe has held a lifelong appreciation for the power of a liberal arts education to develop students' abilities to analyze and change the world. She has engaged with faculty to strengthen its liberal arts offerings to assure their vibrancy in preparing students for leadership roles in the local, national and global communities. She has led the development of important new academic programs, and has forged partnerships with private donors to extend the reach of academic and student support services. The most recent example is the newly-dedicated Edward B. Dunn Center for Career Services and Student Advising, which assists students in developing the breadth of perspective and experience they will need to enable them to be successful.

The Rev. Canon Petero Sabune
The Rev. Sabune also was rector of the Church of Incarnation in Jersey City, New Jersey, where he was instrumental in the development of Resurrection House, a drug-infested building that was transformed into low-income housing for 22 families. He also established TLC (Towards a Loving Community), a successful after-school and summer program for young people.

In 1990, the Rev. Sabune accepted the call to Trinity, Wall Street, as an associate for grants and was responsible for administering funding for programs in healthcare, theological education, AIDS prevention and economic development. Upon leaving Trinity, he was served as Dean and Rector of the Cathedral of Trinity and St. Philip's in the Diocese of Newark. His ministry there included founding of the Jewish/Christian/Islamic Institute and working with the Juvenile Justice Commission in cooperation with Rutgers University. He founded CRP (Cathedral Resource Partnership), which provided an alternative sentencing program for juvenile offenders, including a safe haven where they were mentored and tutored by Rutgers students and lay volunteers.

In 1998, he became Vicar of St. James, Madison Avenue, where he was responsible for International Ministry, Family Ministry, Habitat for Humanity and Youth Mission. While serving there, he became a member of the Hudson Link Board of Directors, assisting in the early development of the college program at Sing Sing.

Sean "Dino" Johnson
Mr. Johnson was a founding member of the Council for Unity chapter at Sing Sing and a graduate of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) theater program at the prison, where he performed in major roles. During his prison years, he received training in non-violent conflict resolution with the Youth Awareness Program (YAP) and, since leaving prison, has served as a peer counselor and gang-related mediator for at-risk youth from New York communities and within the prison population.

In Mr. Johnson's current role with the Council for Unity, he works with school administrators and staff, parents, students, perpetrators and victims to determine their needs and to craft intervention strategies to ensure the growth and development of young people. He uses his experience as a former inmate to deter youth from a life of crime.

Mr. Johnson appeared in the smash hit movie, "The Producers," and the RTA's first Broadway production "From Sing Sing to Broadway." He is developing a performing arts component for the Council for Unity to engage young people to experience the theater.

Hudson Link Newsletter

More about the 2007 Honorees